Aerosols in the atmosphere can change the amount of solar energy that is reflected away from Earth. Different types of aerosols react differently when hit with sunlight. Sea salt particles reflect sunlight back out into space. Black carbon particles from burning of wood or fossil fuels absorb most of the sunlight that hits them.

Aerosols help clouds form and clouds have an impact on climate. The millions of little droplets of water that make up a cloud each need a little particle, like an aerosol, to condense upon. More aerosols can create more clouds. Different types of clouds may have different impacts on climate and this is a topic that scientists are still exploring. But in general, clouds reflect incoming solar radiation back out to space.

Scientists think that over most of the last century the overall effect of the added aerosols was a reduced amount of global warming. Today, however, as new technologies have allowed factories, power plants, and automobiles to release less air pollution into the atmosphere, the amount of aerosols has dropped. That's a good thing since air pollution is a problem for human health. But it has also means that the pace of global warming is likely to increase.

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